Winterize Your Home

Have your furnace tuned up every fall. Regular maintenance can prolong its life and alert you to any potential issues. Have it cleaned, lubricated, and adjusted before each heating season.

Often utility companies or furnace manufacturers will offer free or discounted inspections. However, these needed to be booked in advance as the slots fill quickly.

Change the furnace filters once a month during heating season.

Dirty filters restrict airflow and make your heating system less efficient.

Check exterior caulking and seals and touch up as needed.

Do this every fall.

Check weather stripping on exterior doors. Replace as needed.

Do this every fall.

Ideally this is accomplished with proper weather stripping around windows and doors and door sweeps for all exterior doors.

In a pinch you can also use a rolled towel or draft snake under a drafty door.

Animal nests or creosote buildup in your fireplace can be hazardous. Have an annual inspection before building your first fire of the season.

Blow out sprinkler system in the fall.

Remove hoses from exterior faucets.

Even "freeze-proof" faucets can end up with a broken water line if water in the hose freezes and expands into the pipe.

Do this every fall.

Switch ceiling fans to rotate clockwise during the winter months.

This will circulate any warm air pooled near the ceiling back down into the living space.

Add more insulation between walls and make sure the attic floor and basement ceiling are well insulated.

Install foam electrical outlet and wall plate insulating kits. These are easily found at Lowes or Home Depot and help reduce heat loss.

Check that all water pipes are properly insulated. Pipes running through exterior walls and uninsulated attics and crawlspaces may be at risk of freezing in winter months. Foam pipe sleeves come pre-slit and can easily be wrapped around unprotected pipes and sealed with tape.

In addition, wrapping hot water pipes will save energy which in turn saves you money.